Your Sanity For A Loach
by Lady Of The Semicolons
Summary: Ocarina of Time. The owner of the fishing pond is convinced Link has gone off the deep end. Maybe he has; he's trying to catch the Hylian Loach.


The owner of the fishing pond was a bit concerned. His favorite customer, the young man in the green suit and hat, was dropping in much more frequently than usual. This normally wouldn't be a bad thing, except the young man wasn't paying to fish. Instead, he would come right to the edge of the fishing pond, strap on a pair of strange metal boots, and wade into the water until he was totally submerged. A few minutes later, he would come out again, shaking his head in disappointment, and walk back out the door.

If this weren't enough to make the owner nonplussed, a few seconds later, the young man would come back in and repeat the whole thing.

"…Can I help you?" he tried to ask as the man walked in for the fifth time. The young man just shook his head, as though he were on the most urgent of business, and proceeded to once again walk straight into the pond. The owner sighed. Such antics were probably disturbing the fish.

His bemusement only increased as the hours slipped by, the young man never ceasing with his task. The owner tried several times to talk him into taking a break—surely he must be tired by now?—but the young man still persisted.

_What the heck is he even doing?_ the owner asked himself as night fell and the young man _still _was up to his strange behavior. By dawn, he was considering closing to get him to stop.

Come in the door, go in the water, come out, go out the door, come back in the door.

"Sir?" No response.

Come in the door, go in the water, come out, go out the door, come back in the door.

"Are you feeling alright?" Still no response.

Come in the door, go in the water, come out, go out the door, come back in the door.

"Look, this is getting ridiculous!"

The owner had lost all track of time watching his patron. This had been going on for at least three days, and it was starting to drive him over the edge.

"**GRAAAH!" **He would have been pulling out his hair if he still had it. "WOULD YOU STOP THAT ALREADY?!"

Yet again the young man came in, and yet again he put on his odd boots and stomped into the pond. But something was slightly different when he came out. He was grinning triumphantly, though something, perhaps the lack of sleep, made the grin look a bit demented.

The young man walked up to the counter, not the door, and stood there. The owner stared at him for several seconds, blinking at the deviation from his routine.

"Y-You… Do you want to go fishing for twenty Rupees?" asked the owner, hardly daring to believe it.

"Yes," replied the young man, the creepy grin still on his face, "Oh, yes I do."

The owner awkwardly took his money and handed him a fishing rod. He watched the young man run around the perimeter of the pond, walk through the stream, and finally jump in the water and swim to one of the logs resting in the middle. He saw the young man crouch on the log, then distinctly heard him cackle. The young man adjusted his rod and finally cast.

The owner figured he would probably never understand just what had possessed his customer the past few days, but things thankfully seemed to be going back to normal, so he saw no point in questioning it.

He heard loud, jubilant cackling and looked back in the young man's direction. He had clearly caught a fish, and was practically dancing in celebration. The young man approached the desk, still cackling.

"Shall I weigh your fish for you?" the owner asked.

The young man grinned and showed the fish to him. The owner nearly had a heart attack. "HOLY GODDESSES!" he exclaimed. "That's a… that's a Hylian Loach! These things are rarer than rare!"

"I know," replied the young man, his eye giving a slight twitch, "Oh, I know…"

The owner was a little disconcerted, but went on, "The least I can do is reward you for such a catch." He handed the young man fifty rupees. The young man looked at the money for a few minutes, then put it away and started laughing hysterically.

"Er…" said the owner, unsure of what to do.

"I did it. I _did _it," said the young man, eye twitching again. He returned the fishing rod and laughed his way out.

The owner stood there in bemusement for several minutes before figuring it was probably best to never ask.


End file.
